I'm re-reading Tracy Kidder's "The Soul of a New Machine" at the moment. It's about Data General and the development of a new minicomputer. I read it at the dawn of my IT career in the 1990s and found much of was still relevant then. (the book was written in 1981) Thirty years later, I'm mostly just nodding as I follow along; yep, yep, yep. "Engineering" is a distant second to corporate politics and office pecking order.
Reading Brian Shul's "Sled Driver" autobiography on the tablet. Shul was an SR-71 pilot, and the book is about 10% Shul and 90% SR-71. It reads fast and it's interesting, with unexpected bits of information.
Just finished David Goggins' "Can't Hurt Me." It's supposed to be a "motivational" autobiography. I can't say I felt motivated. Most of his problems were self-inflicted, and he treated his family and children like dirt.
As for David Goggins, I mostly agree, his level of drive is impressive at some level, but also just insane- he pushes himself to do things likely to cause permanent lasting injuries just because he can. It seems like he couldn't even get along with other Navy Seals, because they weren't disciplined and motivated enough for him, and wouldn't accept ideas like training to the point of serious injury or disability. But it makes zero sense- how can you be ready for a mission when you're injured? Ultimately, it seems like he's addicted to self harming to escape emotional trauma/pain, not because he's disciplined.
Jocko Willink is a similar "Navy seal teaching you the secrets to becoming a badass" but his approach seems a lot more sane and useful, and has been more effective in his own life.
If you haven't read it, I also enjoyed his book, 'House'. It has a similar theme to TSoaNM: multiple parties with the same ultimate goal, but conflicting approaches born out of self-interest.
I read it shortly after buying the house that would be (and is) our 'family home', of a very similar vintage (early 80s, East Coast.) Certainly not every home from the past was artfully constructed (or even well-built), but something just feels different with the modern, Fortune-500 homebuilders that rush an army of interchangeable subcontractors through cookie-cutter plans to maximize interior square-footage and stack as many units as possible on a tract of land.
I just hope there is something more serious but less than serious about building a computer such as the Nova. I went through Nand to Tetris and it was pretty fun.
Reading Brian Shul's "Sled Driver" autobiography on the tablet. Shul was an SR-71 pilot, and the book is about 10% Shul and 90% SR-71. It reads fast and it's interesting, with unexpected bits of information.
Just finished David Goggins' "Can't Hurt Me." It's supposed to be a "motivational" autobiography. I can't say I felt motivated. Most of his problems were self-inflicted, and he treated his family and children like dirt.